CARDIFF City may have left Cheltenham with a point on Saturday, but a despondent Andy Campbell boarded the team bus feeling like he had tasted defeat.

CARDIFF City may have left Cheltenham with a point on Saturday, but a despondent Andy Campbell boarded the team bus feeling like he had tasted defeat.

Campbell, who scored his second goal of the season at Whaddon Road, knew City should have been returning home with all three points. The match statistics tell the story - the visitors had 18 efforts at goal compared with Cheltenham's three and they had eight corners compared with Cheltenham's two.

Lennie Lawrence's multi-million pound outfit dominated the game, but the Robins, put together at a total cost of #80,000, managed to share the points. They only had one real chance all afternoon - and scored from it.

Judging from the body language of the City players in the warm-down session after the game, they all felt the same as Campbell. Heads were bowed and tongues were silent. It was as if they had been soundly beaten.

Not even the fact that this City side had matched the exploits of the 1946-47 team by extending their unbeaten away run to 10 matches could lift the disappointment.

"It feels like we've suffered a defeat," said striker Campbell who put the Bluebirds ahead in the 11th minute following a super move involving Graham Kavanagh and Peter Thorne.

"It felt the same last Monday when we drew at home against Luton. We went back to the dressing room as if we had been beaten. It's not a nice feeling."

After the disappointing dis-play against Luton, Lawrence opted for a 4-4-2 formation and he saw his side play some slick football. For the first time this season they had dominated an entire game but, for all their possession, they just couldn't find that second, winning goal.

City centre-back Daniel Gabbidon came closest. Neil Howarth brilliantly cleared his 62nd-minute header from Andy Legg's corner off the line. The 30-year-old defender was Cheltenham's hero of the afternoon since it was Howarth who had earlier wiped out Campbell's goal, drilling a 31st-minute shot past Neil Alexander after the City defence failed to clear Russell Milton's free-kick.

"We knew we should have won this game," added Campbell, who, after bagging his first goal since the openingday win at Oldham on August 10, squandered three decent opportunities to extend his team's advantage.

"If we want to win this league - and I know I want to and I know the other players, the manager and Sam (Hammam) want to as well - then we've got to come to places like Cheltenham and get the three points.

"I needed today's goal, but I definitely would have swapped it for three points. We played some decent stuff - it's just a shame we couldn't get the second goal."

It has been a frustrating last week for Lawrence. First his side failed to break down a Luton team that had not lost all of their opening four matches and then five days later his Bluebirds failed to punish a Cheltenham side still looking for

their first win this season.

Because several of their play-ers are involved on international duty, City now have to wait a fortnight for their next league game and, if results don't go their way, they could end up kicking off against Stockport at Ninian Park in a mid-table position.

"In the dressing room after the game it was mentioned that we could end up playing catch-up and that's something we don't want to do," continued Campbell.

"But, as long as the strikers get the goals, there shouldn't be a problem. We scored for fun last season. If myself and the other strikers (Peter Thorne, Robert Earnshaw and Leo Fortune-West) get our fair share of goals then we'll be all right."

Campbell put City in front after 11 minutes. The move began with Kavanagh, then Thorne provided Campbell with a sublime pass that put him clear of the Robins' defence and the former Middlesbrough slipped the ball through goalkeeper Steve Book's legs.

Just a minute before the Robins levelled he missed a good chance to extend the visitors' lead. He was picked out by the outstanding Willie Boland, but shot straight at Book.

Lawrence won't have been impressed with the way his play-ers let Cheltenham back into the match. Rhys Weston was booked for needlessly conceding a free-kick after fouling former Bluebird Paul Brayson, who was going nowhere, and Spencer Prior failed to clear Milton's ball into the City penalty area allowing Howarth to equalise.

There was only one team in it after the break but, despite throwing Earnshaw and Fortune-West into the mix, City were unable to get past Book.

"I can't remember when I was last involved in such a one-sided match and we didn't win," said Lawrence afterwards. "This was one of the most frustrating games I've ever been involved in.

"Cheltenham had one effort on goal and maybe a couple of half-efforts and still they escaped with a draw.

"Had we got a second I'm convinced we would have gone on to score three or four, but we didn't."

Lawrence's decision to take off Andy Legg for Fortune-West was booed by the 1,200-strong travelling support.

It was a curious decision since Legg was one of City's liveliest players and Fortune-West jumping for Legg's trademark long throws might have wreaked havoc in the Robins' penalty box in the final 10 minutes.

"We should be coming to place like Cheltenham and winning, but it's not easy because teams are defending so deep against us," said Bluebirds' skip-per Kavanagh.

"They seem happy with a draw against us. That's not an excuse. It's something we've got to combat and get over."